Say hello to one of the world’s most spectacular insects… The Harlequin Beetle!

These brilliant bugs belong to the family Cerambycidae – the Longhorn Beetles – and are renowned for their incredible antennae, intimidating size and mesmerising appearance.

By far one of the most curious aspects of Harlequin Beetle behaviour is that they quite happily act as public transport for small arachnids called pseudoscorpions. When a group of pseudoscorpions wants to start a new colony, they begin by finding themselves a Harlequin Beetle, before sneakily snuggling underneath its wings. The Harlequin Beetle then flies to a new location, typically a fallen tree, where it lays its eggs, and where the pseudoscorpions disembark. As the baby Harlequin Beetles develop, the pseudoscorpions go about producing their own young and expanding their newfound colony. Eventually, the adult beetles emerge, at which point a new band of trailblazing pseudoscorpions are patiently waiting to hitch a ride, eager to start the cycle all over again.

Surprisingly, the altruistic Harlequin Beetles appear to receive no benefits from this arrangement, and as many as fifteen pseudoscorpions have been recorded nestled beneath the wings of a single beetle.

So, the next time you’re driving past a lonely-looking hitchhiker, ask yourself – what would a Harlequin Beetle do?

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Harlequin Beetle (Acrocinus longimanus), Manu Biological Station, Peru